(2 of 3)
No matter where you are in your physician career, you need a well-written medical CV that accurately conveys your knowledge, skills, and experience. As you search for a job online, you will come across numerous websites offering free resume advice and paid resume writing services. As a physician, your CV will include much of the same information as a standard resume – education, experience, accomplishments – with a few additions and changes. If you elect to use a resume writing service, be sure you choose one that specializes in physician career services and knows how to write a solid medical CV.
Related Articles
Format
Much like a resume, a medical CV should utilize a no-frills format with a standard font and one inch margins.
Heading
A centered heading should state your name and contact details (unless uploading to a job board with an anonymous search feature that you plan to use). A career objective or summary statement is optional; however, highlighting your preferences (geographical or type of facility) and any relevant skills (bilingual) can help you stand out – particularly if an employer uses a search engine to filter your medical CV from an online database.
Education
On a medical CV, list education first. Clearly state where you went to medical school, your degree, and the year you graduated, followed by undergraduate information.
Postgraduate
List fellowships, residencies, and internships with the most recent position first. Include year of completion.
Certifications and Licensure
List all boards and national exams with the corresponding dates taken. Also include a list of states in which you hold a medical license with the dates of expiration.
Employment history
Begin with your present or most recent employment. State your status, the name of the clinic/group/practice, admitting facilities, and location. Be specific about the dates of employment, including the month and year.
Additional Information
Your medical CV may also include professional affiliations, research accomplishments, extracurricular and volunteer experience, a list of publications and presentations, continuing education activities, and honors and awards. Full disclosure of this type of information can result in a lengthy medical CV, so for the purpose of your online search you should consider abbreviating. For example, instead of including a list of publications, note that a list is available upon request. You may wish to keep two versions of your medical CV: one comprehensive and another no longer than two pages, preferably one.
Employers and recruiters can search for candidates on MDsearch.com using CVconnect, a unique national database with advanced search technology. Candidates use keywords to search for jobs on the site, and likewise, employers and recruiters use keywords to search for candidates.
In order to rank highly on the employer's or recruiter's results page, you will need to have the right keywords included in your profile and/or medical CV. For example, if a recruiter is looking for an orthopedic surgeon for a job in Texas, make sure you've identified your specialty on your profile and marked that you have a license in Texas. Additionally, make sure your CV states your specialty in the heading or summary (keywords are generally pulled from the top of the document). Also, if you are not currently living in the state where you seek to practice, clearly note that you are willing to relocate in your objective statement at the top of the CV. You can also note this in your profile information. These methods ensure that you will show up in a search for a physician in that state. The more details you provide – on both your profile and your medical CV – the more likely you are to be found by the right employer or agency.
